Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering Commons^™

Evaluating The Effects Of Wood Source On The Physicochemical Properties Of Crosslinked Cellulose Nanocrystals, Helena Tchoungang Nkeumen

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Cellulose is an abundant and naturally occurring biopolymer that has been used by humans for food, shelter, and clothing for about two centuries now. Highly crystalline nanoparticles derived from cellulose, called cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs), show great potential to meet the rising need for sustainable and nontoxic materials for biomedical applications. However, multiple biomedical applications of CNCs, such as those involving their use in tissue engineering scaffolds, require CNC-based structures to be stable in aqueous environments, a property that native CNCs do not possess due to their inherent hydrophilicity. Chemical crosslinking of CNCs addresses this issue by providing aqueous stability to …

Dynamics Of Depression Storage During Sprinkler Irrigation And Precipitation Events, Michael B. Mckinney

Department of Biological Systems Engineering: Dissertations and Theses

Surface depression storage (D_s) is the volume of precipitation excess which is stored by surface microrelief features of soils. The volume of water stored in surface depressions when precipitation rate exceeds infiltration rate reduces the amount of runoff generated. Because Ds is dependent on soil microrelief, land slope, and crop residue, tillage and management practices can have a considerable impact on the magnitude of this value.

When modeling irrigation systems and surface hydrology, depression storage is often treated as a static abstraction, meaning that maximum storage volume must be filled before runoff occurs. However, several researchers have documented …

Scanning Electron Microscopic Evaluation Of The Fractured Surfaces Of Canine Calculi From Substrata With Different Surface Free Energy, H. M. W. Uyen, W. L. Jongebloed, H. J. Busscher

Cells and Materials

The strength of adhesion between dental calculus and enamel or dentin surfaces determines the ease with which the calculus can be removed by brushing or professional dental treatment. In this study, we examined the adhesion of canine calculi formed on substrata with different surface free energies (sfe) and roughness by means of scanning electron microscopy. In 4 beagle dogs fenestrated crowns were made on the upper fourth premolars. Subsequently, facings of glass (sfe = 120 mJ. m-2), bovine enamel (sfe = 85 mJ.m-2), bovine dentin (sfe = 92 mJ.m-2), polymethyl-methacrylate (PMMA, sfe = 56 mJ.m-2) and polytetrafluorethylene (PTFE, sfe = …